Ukraine’s counteroffensive has already cost it more than a dozen Bradley fighting vehicles provided by Washington, the New York Times has reported, citing anonymous US officials. Since Kiev began its operation at the start of June, the Russian Defense Ministry has claimed its forces have destroyed dozens of Ukrainian armored vehicles and tanks, including Western-made ones.
According to an article published by the NYT on Monday, 17 of the 113 Bradleys supplied to Ukraine by the US have been damaged or destroyed.
Particularly dangerous for advancing Ukrainian troops are extensive Russian minefields, the paper explained. The flat, open terrain in southeastern Ukraine is making the counteroffensive an arduous undertaking as Ukrainian troops effectively have nowhere to take cover.
The NYT claimed that Russian KA-52 attack helicopters pose an additional threat as they have reportedly managed to conduct missile strikes from outside the range of Ukrainian air defense.
As a result, the Ukrainian counteroffensive has ground to a halt in some areas, with soldiers reassessing their tactics, the newspaper claimed. Kiev’s forces have thus far managed to cover less than half the distance to Russia’s main line of defense, the report added.
Ukrainian service members told reporters that the Russians had “dug in, they mined, they are ready.”
“Given what the guys are saying, it’s not going as well as they show on TV,” a medic acknowledged.
Meanwhile, officials in Kiev, including President Vladimir Zelensky, have attempted to reassure the public that the main battles are still ahead.
While Kiev’s backers in the US are publicly calling for patience, one anonymous official told the NYT that the underwhelming results of the Ukrainian counteroffensive have been “sobering.”
“They are behind schedule,” the senior administration official conceded, speaking privately to journalists.
However, unnamed officials also insisted that given the extensive Russian defenses, the slow pace of the Ukrainian advance was predictable, claiming it was still too early to draw any broad conclusions.
Since the start of June, the Russian Defense Ministry has claimed on several occasions that its troops have destroyed Western-supplied military hardware, with Ukraine losing thousands of service members in the process.
Moscow has released video clips apparently showing its troops destroying a German-made Leopard tank, French AMX-10 light tanks, and other vehicles.